September 28, 2022 by Eric Friesen

Prior to the NHL trade deadline last season on March 21, the Edmonton Oilers acquired Brett Kulak from the Montreal Canadiens and Derick Brassard from the Philadelphia Flyers.

Kulak had two goals and eight points in 16 games with his hometown team down the stretch drive, but more importantly, he was strong defensively. The 28-year-old signed a four-year contract with the Oilers worth $11 million on July 13. Meanwhile, Brassard struggled in Edmonton, tallying just two goals and three points in 15 games with the Oilers in 2021-22. The 35-year-old is currently on a professional try-out with the Ottawa Senators.

Believing the Oilers had the ability to go on a long playoff run (which they did), General Manager Ken Holland brought in Kulak and Brassard to bolster the team’s depth. It seems, however, that the Oilers were close to finalizing four other in-season trades last season.

Related: Oilers acquire Brett Kulak

Oil in Goal (@oilingoal) on Twitter, posted four pictures of jerseys from the Oilers Fan Day and locker room sale on Saturday. The names on the unused Oilers jerseys were Carson Soucy, Justin Braun, Marc Staal and Jacob Middleton.

Carson Soucy

Soucy is the most intriguing name here. His age and skill set are in line with what the Oilers needed last season, and could still use in 2022-23. The 28-year-old is solid shutdown defender who can play either side effectively. He doesn’t put up much offence, but get the puck on net for deflections and rebounds. The Oilers have multiple blueliners with 40-plus point ability, so adding a defence-first defender like Soucy would have been certainly helped in the playoffs. I could see the Oilers reaching out to the Seattle Kraken again in February about a possible deal for Soucy.

Justin Braun

While Soucy was surely their top target, Braun would have been a decent addition to the Oilers as well. Braun is another steady and reliable defensive-minded rearguard who could have been a nice fit on the third pairing. The 35-year-old has played in Western Conference Final twice and the 2016 Stanley Cup Final, so he offers plenty of experience. My best guess as to why this deal fell through is that the Oilers weren’t willing to move a mid-round pick for an older defenceman.

Marc Staal

A veteran of 15 NHL seasons, Staal is another defender loads of experience, including a trip to the 2014 Stanley Cup Final. Holland was clearly looking for players who have either won a Cup, or been to a Final before to help guide this young Oilers team at the most important time of the year. The 35-year-old was only minus-one on a bad Detroit Red Wings team last season, but there were better and younger trade options on the market.

Jacob Middleton

Middleton was the most surprising name here, since he has played in 80 NHL games since making his debut in 2018-19. The 26-year-old plays a solid, stay-at-home style, but it would have taken multiple injuries on the back end for him to see any playing time during the Oilers late-season push for a division title in 2021-22.